Railway-traffic-controlling system



a. c WHITNEY. "RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING SYSTEM. APPLIQA'TION FILED MAY'ZI', I919.

. 1,421,880. 1 mumm 4,1922;

an s g "8 Q *1 N. N m P 3 "a QNG T. a ma Pa the following is a specification.

, To all whom z'tmay concern:

.Be it known thatI, GriLBEriT C. WHITNEY,

UNITED STATES GILBERT c WHITNEY,

PATENT OFFICE.

on NEW YORK, N. Y;

RAILWAY-TRAFFIC-CONTROLLING SYSTEM.

' Application filed May 21,

a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county'ot New York and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements, in Railway-Traflic Controlling Systems, of which This invention relates to railway traflic controlling systems and more particularly to the operation of track switches and has for an object to increasethe safety of trafiic over such switches. The established practice of the art requires that a means be provided to prevent the'operation of a track switch when this operation would be dangerous to a train moving over the-track. This is p/rticularly -important where the track switch is operated by power. Associated with the track switch there is usually a s1g nal which, when in the clear pos1tion,'ind1- cates that the switch is in a safe position for the passage'of a train. This is secured by a system of mechanical locking between the lever which controls .the signal and the lever which ope-rates the switch. Coupled with this is an electric lock on the signal lever controlled b the presence of a train on the trackand so arranged that this l'ever cannot be placed in the position to release the lever controlling the switch while the train occupies the portion of the track in which the switch is'located. This arrangement is known as approach locking and desame portion of track, without regard to the position of the signal lever and, in addition, if the switch has' partially moved when the train approaches, it will complete its movement and thereby p re'vent derailment, but when'such movement is once com Specification of Letters Patent.

'from the track battery 21.

entrance to block B to Patented July 4, 1922. 1919. Serial No.5 298,779.

* pleted the switch connot be moved again until the track is'clear. I

The operation of my invention will be'understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in which-Fig. 1 is a wiringdiagram showing the application of inve tion to a switch operated byelectrid-tflqvitlr and, Fig. 2 is a modified detail showing the use of a timing device to effect the release of the switch Like characters represent like parts in each figure. i

The track rails are represente'dby'lOL and 102, these are divided into sections or blocks designated A, B, C by thein'sulated joints 103. 11 is a track switch leading to track E. A track circuit is provided-for section A having a track relay 22 energized" And a corres ponding track circuit is provided for section B, having'the track relay 23 and the track battery 20. A signal 16 is located at the protect switch 11 located in this block.

'The switch 11 is controlled by lever-11 located in tower 12, this lever havinga normal and reversed position corresponding to thenormal and reversed position of the switch; If this lever is moved towards the right contacts 28 will be closed by contact piece 30 and this sets up the conditions for operating the switch mechanism as follows: Current from battery 15,v wires 51 and 52, contact 53 of safety relay 24, wire 54 to holding coil of relay'24.; Wires 55 and 56,

contacts 28, contact piece 30,.wire 57, Contact 34 on switch mechanism, wire 60, motor field l 32 for reverse movement, motor 14, wires 61 v and 50 to battery. The motor, through connection 31 operates the track switch and on.

completion of the movement opens contact 34 and closes contact 35. This places the circuits in position to operate the switch back to the normal position again when the lever is moved to the left as shown. The operating circuit can be traced as before from wire 55, lever contacts 27 closed by contact piece 30, wire 58, contact 35 on switch mechanism, now closed, wire 59, motor field 33 for normal movement, motor 14 and wires 61 and 50 to battery. This circuit is fundamental to electrically controlled. switches whether operated by direct or altertrain occupyin or prevent this circuit being established.

This relay is energized from battery 15, wires 51, and 80, contacts 25 closed by contact piece 29, wire 76 to pick up coil of relay and Wires 77 and 50 to battery. Lever 11 has a preliminary movement defined by the electric lock 91 engaging the slot 92.

This lock is released when the. switch mechanism has completed its movement by a circuit arrangement not shown, this enables the lever movement to be completed. It will be observed that contacts 25 and 26 are shorter than contacts 27 and 28 which control the switch motor and are closed only in the extreme position of the lever; there fore while the lever moves within the limits of the slot 92 contacts 25 and 26 cannot be closed and thus when the lever is in the operating position the circuit of the pick up coil of relay 24 is open between wire 78 and 79. The pick up of this relay is controlled by the track circuits from wires 51 and 71,.

contact 72 of relay 22, wire 73, contact 74 of relay 23 and wires 75 and 76 to relay. Thus, when the lever is moved to operate the switch the pick up coil of relay 24 is controlled over the track relays 22 and 23, this circuit will therefore be open with a track sections A or B It has been s own that th operating current for the switch mechanism is taken in series through the holding coil of the safety relay and throughcontact 53 when this relay is energized. The following conditions, therefore, result: When the lever is placed in either extreme position, relay 24 is energized by the pick up coil; when the track sections are unoccupied this relay is also energized by the pick up coil; when the switch mechanism is drawing current this relay is maintained energized by the holding coil; when this relay is deenergized the switch cannot'be operated. Attention is here directed to the fact that contact 53 does not open while the switch is drawing curtwo or more relays with the same ultimate result as I have obtained with but one relay.

The application of this system will be understood by consideringthe approach of a train in the direction of the arrow. When signal 16 is clear, the route is established for the through movement of the train and when the train is on sections A or B a movement of. the lever cannot produce a corresponding movement of the switch since the pick up coil of relay 24 is opened by the track relays and is also opened by the preliminary movement of the lever before the operating circuit is established, hence contact 53 will be open controlling the cur rent to the switch motor. Now if the switch movement is partially made when the train enters section A, although the pick up coil of relay 24 will be deenergized, the holding coil of this relay is energized until the operating circuit oft the switch motor is opened at contacts 34 or 35 when it becomes deenergized. Section A is of such length that a train at maximum speed passing over it will consume a greater time interval than that necessary for the complete operation of the switch movement. Vhere necessary, an additional section of track may be arranged to control the circuit of relay 24 for this purpose. By this arrangement switch the switch independently of thetrack circuit control.

An important application of this invention is obtained when the signal is not cleared and the switch lever is not restrained by the mechanical locking of the signal lever. In practice it frequently happens that the route cannot be established for an approaching-train and the signal remains in the stop position. In dense trafiic, for instance, a previous train may not have cleared the route when the following train enters upon section A, signal 16 is used to stop this train. It occasionally happens that a train will over-run the signal or a train may pass the signal in the stop position on the instruction of a hand signal or flag.

vention under these conditions the switch lever is free to be moved and to operate the switch mechanism until the train enters section B when an electric detector look, not shown in the diagram but commonly used in practice, restricts the movement of the lever. Now ,ifthe lever is placed in the operating position just before the train enters upon section B, if the time consumed by the train in covering the distance D is less than the time interval for the operation of the switch mechanism, it. is apparent that the. front of the train will pass over the switch rails before their movement is fully completed thereby leading to a derailment. With the present invention this cannot occur as the track circuit control of the section B.

-is completed.

switch extends over section A as well as It will also be clearly evident that, if the train passes over thetrack circuits beginning with track circuit C and ending with track circuit A; in other words, if the train runs over the system in the opposite direction and while it is occupying track circuits A or B the lever or actuating device should be operated, the switch would not operate because the'switch operating circuit would be open at contact 53 on relay 24 but as soon as track circuit A became unoccupiedtrack circuit B remaining unoccupied-relay 24 will become energized closing switch operating circuit at contact 53 thus operating switch to position to: correspond with lever or actuating device thereby eiiecting,'in. a safe manner, an intirely automatic operation of the switch.

In the ordinary course of operation, it is, of course necessary to be able to operate the switch when a train is stopped at the signal and occupying section A. I provide for this by requiring the co-operation of the engineman or motorman together with the operation of the lever to set upthe conditions for operating the switch mechanism. The motorman brings his train to astop and operates push button 38 located on the track adj oining the signal, this closes contact 37 and shunts out the control of relay 22 by means of the connections 81 and 82. With the lever in the operating position this will pick up relay 24 and establish the operating circuit of the switch mechanism. The'trainbeing stopped cannot accelerate to over-run the switch points before .the switch movement In certain applications it may be inconvenient for the motorman to operate the push button, corresponding results may be had by a device that will insure that the train is running under restricted speed. An arrangement of this kind is illustrated in Fig. 2 in which a timing device is substituted for the push button shown in Fig. 1. lVhen relay 22 is deenergized, contact For instance, the contacts 25 and 26 on lever 11 may be omitted entirely and the system will function properly by'the pick up coil 1 of relay 24 controlling through the track relays only. The advantage secured by controlling this relay with the lever in the extreme position is that if the switch should be misplaced and the track circuit open conditions will be automatically established to move the switch into a position correspond ing with the position of the lever. These contacts may, is desired, be operated by the switch mechanism so that a preliminary movement of the switch opens the circuit in a manner corresponding to the lever move ment.

The track circuit control of the switch mechanism is always effective to control the operating current except for the interval in 1 which the mechanism is drawing current.

When applied 'to slow operating, low voltage mechanisms track circuit control is thus secured while guarding against the possibility of the current being cut off on a partial movement oftlle switch. This is a superior from of protection to that indirectly obtained from a track circuit controlled lock applied to the operating lever.

111 is closed setting up the circuit of the.

- relay is adjusted with relation to the length of section A as to require a low speed in this section to close contact 37 The illustrations here shown and described embody oneform of my invention but it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that its application may be varied and modified to suit'varying conditions without departing from the principle ofmy invention.

' Having thus described my invention, I claim:

v 1. In a railway traflic controlling system, a track provided with a track circuit, a track switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for operating said switch, means including a relay for controlling said mechanism by said track circuit and means for removing said control when said mechanism is operating.

2. In a railway traflic controlling system,

cuit is occupied.

3. In a railway traffic controlling system,

'a track including a track circuit, a switch, an

a track including a track circuit, a switch, an

electrically controlled mechanism for said switch, a device embodied in the circuit of said mechanism andcontrolled by said track circuit for preventing the operation of said mechanism when said track is occupied, and

for maintaining'the circuit of said mechanism throughout its operation.

4. In a railway trafiic controlling system, a track, including a track circuit, a switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for said switch, a circuit controlling said mechanism, a plurality of means for controlling said circuit,.one of said means controlled by said track circuit said track circuit controlled means being effective except when said mech anism is drawing current.

5. In a railway trafl ic controlling system, in combination, a track including a track circuit, a switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for operating said switch, a circuit controlling said mechanism, a relay having an operating coil controlled'by said track circuit and a holding coil connected in series with the circuit controlling said mechanism. I

6. In a railway traffic controlling system, in combination, atrack'including a track circuit, a switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for operating said switch, a circuit controlling said mechanism, a lever controlling said circuit, a relay having an oper ating coil controlled by said track circuit and by said lever and a holding coil connected in series with the circuit controlling said mechanism. I

7. In a railway traflic controlling system, a track including a track circuit, a switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for operating said switch, a relay having an operating coil controlled by said track circuit and a holding coil included in the circuit of said mechanism, said relay when energized closing said mechanism circuit.

8. In a railway traffic-controlling system, a

- track including a track circuit, a switch, an

electrically controlled mechanism for operatin said switch, a lever controlling the circuit of said mechanism, a relay controlled by said lever and by said track circuit, said relay controlling the circuit of said mecha- IllSIIl. I

track including a track circuit, a switch, an

electrically controlled mechanism for oper-:

. the circuit of saidmechanism when energized, and a circuit established by said lever in its extremepositions to energize said relay. a x

10. In a railway trafiic controlling system, a trackincluding a track switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for operating said switch, a lever controlling the circuit of said mechanism, a relay energized by said lever in its extreme positions, a holding circuit for said relay to maintain it energized when said mechanism is drawing current,

and said relay controlling the circuit of said mechanism. j

11. In a railway tra'fiic controlling system, a track including a track circuit, a switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for op erating said switch, a relay having an operating coil controlled by said track circuit and a holding coil included in the circuit of said mechanism, said relay when energized closing the circuit of said mechanism, and means remotely located for shunting outsaid track circuit control.

12. In a railway traffic controlling system, a track including a track circuit, a switch, an electrically controlled mechanism for oper- 9; In a railway traiiic controlling system, a

erating said switch-mechanism' when said track circuit is deenergized.

13. In a railway traiiic controlling circuit, a track including a track circuit, a switch, an

- electrically control-led mechanism for operating said switch, a relay having a pick up coil controlled by said track circuit and a holding coil controlledby the circuit of said mechanism, said relay controlling said mechanism circuit, and means'for'preventing said relay trom opening said circuit when said mechanism is drawing current.

14. In a power operated interlocking system including a central source of energy, a switch machine, a detector track circuit, and means controlled by said track circuit and responsive to the flow of current to the switch machine for cutting off the supply of power to said machine while the detector track circuit is occupied, said means permitting the switch machine to complete its operation it started before the detector track circuit is occupied.

controlled by said relay, said relay energized by a circuit and maintained energized by the current flow to said machine.

16. In a railway traflic controlling system, a source of energy, a track switch, a track circuit, an electrically controlledswitch and lock mechanism for said switch, acircuit for said mechanism, said track circuit controlling said mechanism and means for starting the operation of said'mechanism independent of said track circuit control, said track circuit control of said mechanism-being automatically restored upon deenergization. of

said mechanism circuit.

17. In a railway traflic controlling system, i

a source of energy, an electrically controlled switch and lock mechanism, a relay, a track circuit controlling said relay, said relay controlling said mechanism and means for starting the operation of said mechanism independent of said track circuit saidtrack circuit control being automatically restored upon completion of the movement of said mechanism.

,18. In a r'ailway a switch, a plurality of track circuits one of -which track circuits is located in the approach to the signal protecting the switch, an

traflic' controlling system, I

electrically controlled mechanism for said switch, a circuitfor said mechanism, said circuit controlled by said track circuits for preventing the flow of current to said mechanism when said track circuits are occupied and means forshunting out said approach track circuit control.

19. In a power operated switch-operating 5 system, an electrical element controlled by a track circuit and maintained energized by the current flow in the switch circuit.-

20. In a power operated switch system, a

detector track circuit, said track circuit con-- trolling the circuit of said switch system, 10 v and a manually operated-release to nullify said track circuit control. e

Signed at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of N ew York, this 20th day I of May, A.- D, 1919. i

" GILBERT C.-WHITNEY.- 

